Zach is heading out this weekend for Louisville, KY. His band westcoastrevival
is putting on a concert at the New Attitude Conference.

Another "Arctic Beach Trip"

We took the "fam" to Newport Beach on Sunday. It was warm and sunny inland, but by the time we hit the beach, it was cloudy and cold on the coast. We just laughed because we have a family history/tradition of "arctic adventures" - trying to picnic or go to the beach when it's much too cold. We usually just run to the sand, snap a few pictures and run back to the car. This time, we took the ferry over to Balboa Island, did a little shopping and had some dinner before heading home. All in all, we had a good time being together and adding one more family memory to the "Arctic Files."

Mother's Day Photos

Tami's Day Off

"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul." ~John Muir

Today was "Tami's Day Off" on my calendar. These show up monthly in my Daytimer, but I haven't been disciplined lately to actually take them. With a little planning and a lot of encouragement from my very sweet husband, I made it out the door this morning to have an entire day to myself.

After kissing the girls goodbye, loading the car with beach gear, stopping at Starbucks, I was making my way down the freeway to Orange County's Balboa Beach. It's a bit of a distance, but it's a great beach - clean, quiet, and safe- well worth the drive. I usually listen to talk radio or music while I'm driving, but today I wanted to enjoy... silence. That's rare in a household of 7 people - especially with 4 girls who love to talk!!

I had a wonderfully quiet day- sitting at the beach, watching the ocean, listening to the waves and reading the books I brought along. After a few hours in the sun by the oceanside, it was getting a little chilly and windy, so I headed back inland before the rush hour traffic. Since I wasn't ready to come home yet, I drove to another of my favorite sites- a park with hiking trails in Sierra Madre.

For the next couple of hours I sat in the woods drinking in the beauty of blue skies, towering pine trees, dappled sunshine and gentle breezes while I read, wrote, meditated, prayed, planned and savored the silence.

After my wonderfully solitary day, I'm refreshed and ready to go back to real life...

"True silence is the rest of the mind, and is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment." ~William Penn

Recent Family Project

It all started with a spill....














"You know, we've been wanting to replace that
carpet for a few years now..."














"As long as we're replacing the flooring..."














"I've always hated that little pony wall..."














"Since the floor is out, what about scraping that
awful popcorn stuff off the ceiling..."














"Since we're this far... how about canned lights,
framing in an extra doorway to gain more wall
space, skim coating the entire room,
repositioning the heat ducts, add more
outlets, replace crown molding and base boards,
trim the windows and paint!"














The final clean up after putting in the Pergo.














Putting it all back together.














Thank you Ron and Zach! You guys are amazing!

Getting Fit!

We are making a more concerted effort to get the entire family involved in eating right and exercising. Having a large, busy family and stressful lifestyle is taking its toll and we are feeling the effects. (I think that we also just realized that we are getting old!)

We are making it a priority to be more active - taking family walks, going to the park where the girls can run and play soccer, joining a gym (Tami and Courtney), taking fitness classes, walking to work (Ron). Paige ice skates and goes with me to the gym where she swims. In the summer the girls are on a community swim team and swim several hours each day. We've also been taking family hikes in the local mountains on Ron's day off.

We are also changing the way we eat - more fresh fruits and vegetables, less fast food and less processed foods. That means more time in the kitchen and less meals on the run. The girls are at an age/stage where they like to cook so we've been having fun making meals together and learning some new things. By making meals a priority, we are taking the time to actually eat better food. We've found a quaint little produce market that we like to go to so it's an event to go grocery shopping.

Interpreting Life

At church, we're going through a series on the Book of Numbers. We are reading about the spies who go into Canaan and bring back a report on what they've observed. All twelve spies see the same things but they interpret the data differently.

Ten bring back a negative, discouraging, fear-inducing report filled with a list of all the obstacles and problems. Two bring back an encouraging, inspiring, faith-filled report to "take the land" and possess what God had promised them.

The negative report produced fear, discouragement, murmuring, despair and rebellion. The very people who had been graciously and miraculously delivered by God from oppressive slavery now wanted to go BACK to Egypt! The two spies, Joshua and Caleb saw the same difficulties but interpreted them differently: by factoring in the reality of God's presence.

I'm provoked and challenged by this passage. I've realized how easily I can fall into negativity, grumbling & complaining, focusing on difficult circumstances--and not factor in God's empowering presence.

Happy May!

SONG

On May morning.

NOW the bright morning Star, Dayes harbinger, Comes dancing from the East, and leads with her The Flowry May, who from her green lap throws The yellow Cowslip, and the pale Primrose. Hail bounteous May that dost inspire Mirth and youth, and warm desire, Woods and Groves, are of thy dressing, Hill and Dale, doth boast thy blessing. Thus we salute thee with our early Song, And welcom thee, and wish thee long. John Milton

We had fun celebrating Spring today by making May Day Posies for some of the older ladies in our neighborhood.